Most of our offerings are divisions of our specimen plants or are sent out of pot. This assures minimal postage costs and ease of shipping.

About Us

Our greenhouses are located in San Luis Obispo County, City of Arroyo Grande, half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the beautiful California Central Coast. We started growing orchids in 1964, began commercial growing in 1985, and are still learning.
Our goal is to provide complete customer satisfaction by providing the best quality orchid plants at a very competitive cost. Call us with any questions you may have concerning our orchid offerings, cultural experience or any other orchid related topics of interest to you. If you have any unusual or interesting orchid species that you would like to trade or sell, please us know. Visit our website for new additions as we update our listings weekly.

Hours of Operation

We are not a 40-hour per week business therefore an appointment will assure our presence anytime, Monday through Friday.

Ordering

To order, please use our convenient Shopping Cart. For credit card, fill in the appropriate information on the order form. You can also order by fax, email or US mail. Do not send credit card data via email. We will acknowledge your order and will notify you as to the ship date.

Shipping & Returns

Shipping

We ship on Monday and Tuesday of every week which ensures delivery by Wednesday or Thursday. There is a packing and handling charge of $8 for all orders, plus shipping, which will be charged at actual cost - at the time of shipment.

Once your item(s) ship we will provide you with a tracking number and an invoice via email.

We guarantee safe arrival for all winter shipments as we check your local weather conditions and will include heat packs, free of charge, as required. We have had good, reliable service with U.S. Postal Service 2nd Day Priority Mail and prefer using them as our carrier.

California residents will be charged 7.75% sales tax.

Return Policy

Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your order, please notify us immediately for a full, unconditional refund. Notification must occur within 5 working days of receipt of plants to process your refund.

Substitutions

Since our catalog has a large selection of items and some are limited quantity, we may occasionally run out of stock. We will not substitute unless you specifically request an alternate choice or a substitution for an equal or greater orchid value.

Discounts & Specials

A 15% discount is offered on orders of $500 excluding monthly specials, shipping & packing costs. Our monthly specials can can be found, on our Orchid Listing under Specials.

Orchid Culture

In our orchid descriptions we have included a brief summery of general growing requirements for the selected orchid. Following is a quantitative listing:

Water Quality

Having good water quality is the single most important ingredient required to ensure successful orchid growing. This cannot be overstated. At Slo Orchids, we have a reverse osmosis system, which eliminates any concern of salt build up in the potting media. Additionally, we do not have water spots on the leaves and in the hot summer weather we can spray the foliage and still have clean looking plants. Difficult orchids often become easy to grow when pure water is used. If you are not sure what your water quality is, you should get it tested. NEVER USE SOFT WATER FOR ORCHIDS!

Water Frequency

Generally we water all the orchids at one time regardless of genera. In summer, we water 2 to 3 times a week or every other day. If the weather is particularly warm, we will water spray the foliage every day without necessarily attempting to water the media. All watering is completed by 10:00 a.m., especially in the cooler months, to allow the foliage to completely dry out by the end of the day.

Fertilizing

We fertilize at half the recommended dilution rate, every other watering that equates to once a week in summer and twice a month in winter. For general growing, we use a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer with added trace and micro nutrients. For bloom forcing, we use a 10-30-20 or similar high potassium or phosphorus combination. Since we use reverse osmosis water, we have a deficiency of magnesium and sulfur, and therefore do a monthly foliar spray of magnesium sulphate also known as Epsom salt.

Kind words from our customers...

My order arrived yesterday and I am very pleased with the size and condition of the orchid plants. Thanks so much for the bonus Scarlet Imp!

Doralys A.
July 14, 2017

Orchids arrived yesterday and look good. Thank you for the bonus plant. I miss the central coast!

Rusty R.
June 3, 2017

Hello! I just got my Slo Orchids plants tucked into their new pots / mounts. Thank you so much for the "bonus plant" that was a lovely surprise. I was also thrilled to see the E. tampensis and A. didieri are in spike/bud. What a delight! I really hope that they do not blast, so I can experience the blooms in the near future. They were packaged wonderfully and did not look stressed on arrival, so I am very hopeful. (fingers crossed)
Thanks again for the beautiful plants. I will do my best to help them flourish.

Adria B.
June 3, 2017

Thank you very much for the new orchid. It is up to the standards of all of the other ones I have gotten from you. It is nice to do business with someone who cares about customer service. Unfortunately, it is a difficult thing to find in the world today. Thank you again.